Calcata

Anziano and Sorella Sommerfelt discovered a new quaint little town called Calcata. Our friend from English class, Andrea, told us about it. Anziano and Sorella Burt wanted an adventure this weekend, so they went with us. The town of Vecchio Calcata means old town. It is built on a rock foundation that is jutting out of the edge of a mountain. Calcata was built in 977 AD. The town only has one road into it, so it could be protected against invaders. Now it is a tourist’s dream with all the narrow streets, old apartments in old buildings, steep stairs, unique doors, tiny patios, and colorful flowers.







While we were there, a band lined up outside the church to play when those inside came out. A woman about 68 years old, was around the corner and was tying firecrackers onto a wire. We didn’t know if there was a wedding or a funeral going on inside the church. Finally those inside came out, the band played, and the women set off her fireworks with a very loud and sustained bang. We still don’t know why there was so much attention at the church since neither a bride or a casket came outside. Afterward we went inside the church to look around.




Later we drove around Lake Bracciano and strolled along the waterfront as we ate gelato.
It was a great day.

Here is Karen and Will standing by a tree growing over a large rock.

On Friday we finally visited the Mouth of Truth to see how truthful we are. As you can see, Will is really worried about whether the Mouth of Truth will bite his hand off. Karen is pretty sure she’s okay, so she is laughing. (Nervous Laugh)


This is the view from our balcony. There is a major building project going on and we enjoy checking out what has happened on it during the day when we return home in the evening after our day at the office. Just over a few yards from the project they are making a new park. It is moving much slower, but also provides us entertainment.

FAMILY IS GREAT!

We thoroughly enjoyed Maray and Jim Bringhurst’s trip to Italy. One week isn’t nearly enough to see everything we love to show off, but it is a great start and we made the most of our time together. We did actually have to go to Zone Conference one day and also prepared supplies for President Acerson to take with him to other Zone Conferences and interviews, so we sandwiched in some work and much play.
Here is some baptismal clothing that was especially made for a convert. Anziano Herrick and Anziano Pace,

and Sorella Tramacchi and Sorella Skabelund were kind enough to model them for us.

The play part with Jim and Maray included:
Trevi fountain

Vatican Museum




Sistine Chapel

Top of Dome at St. Peter's Basilica

Coliseum
Piazza Venezia
Orvieto
Firenze


Pisa
Cinque Terre


Nemi

Navona Square
Outlet Mall
We also attended church and they heard the entire 3 hour block in Italian – with interpreters.

What a fun week! Thanks for visiting, Maray and Jim!

WE LOVE ROME

This has been a very interesting, very busy week. We are moved into our new apartment. New to us – that is – and we are loving it. We cannot believe how quiet the neighborhood is at night, and how friendly the people are. In the evening, we can even see the sun set. We spent some time cleaning, and moving pictures and furniture around in the apartment to make it feel more like our home. Maray and Jim are arriving in Rome next Tuesday and we are so excited for them to come. We have asked them to bring our family pictures with them off our family room wall in Draper. Once we get them up in the living room, it will feel like home. We miss family greatly and we appreciate their sweet support in this calling.
On Saturday, from the balcony of our apartment, we saw them move a very large palm tree from one area of a property to another place. They are obviously building something new there.


Elder and Sister Pearson headed home early Saturday morning. Elder and Sister Burt, the new office couple are very nice and we look forward to working with them. Of course, we had a little party at the office for Pearson’s before they left. Pearson’s are next to us, and Burt’s are next to them. Brother Calabrese is the Stake Patriarch and he also works in the office.



This week, our Saturday jaunt took us to a small island in the Tiber River, where there is a church and a hospital. This is the hospital.

There are always ruins everywhere you go in Rome.

We actually saw a wedding going on in the church and two other brides and grooms having pictures taken in the same area. The elaborate ceiling is in the church on the island.



We got our Roman Forum (a newsletter about the mission) published for the president to take to Zone Conferences this coming week. Zone Leaders Conference and 3-month Conference were going on and so we had lots of missionaries in the office, picking up supplies, paying bills, eating cookies, and visiting. They love to come into the office.

After a busy transfer week, we spent our weekend moving into a different apartment. Anziano and Sorella Pearson are on their way home this coming Saturday after serving a successful mission. Anziano and Sorella Burt have been here for a week already. They are replacing the Pearsons. They are learning their office duties and now getting settled into their apartment. As for us, we love our “new” apartment. It is much bigger and m-u-c-h quieter. We are loving that! We even saw a beautiful sunset last night from our living room balcony.

Today at DDM, I served carrot cake as a going away treat to the Pearsons. Our district has changed again, and we are getting to know new missionaries once more.

Please don’t write us off with this short message. We will try and do better next week as we get out and about more once again. Because we live in a different place now, we have new bus routes to learn and new neighbors to meet. Should be interesting!

I guess this is our August vacation. All other Italians seem to take off a lengthy vacation time in August to go to the beach or the mountains. We move across town.

President and Sister Acerson treated Anziano and Sorella Pearson and us to a delightful get-away at Nemi, about 45 minutes from Rome, on Tuesday evening. At a slightly higher elevation in the mountains, there are two ancient volcanoes, filled with water.


These lakes are in such a beautiful setting, as is the small village of Nemi. Small curving cobblestone streets wind down to an overlook of the lake.

There are tiny, charming shops along the way.




The town has a strawberry festival earlier in the year. The strawberries are tiny, sweet berries used on tarts, in jam, wine, candle fragrances, lotions, etc. We wandered and explored until our reservation time at a quaint little restaurant arrived. Then we tried authentic Italian food, with the proprietor bringing us out a appetizer for us to try, because he knew the president and wanted to do something kind for us. It was all very delicious, of course. There was a refreshingly cool breeze as we walked back to our vehicle. After days of stifling heat in Rome, we enjoyed it tremendously.

The next morning, Will and I were up early to take President and Sister Acerson to the Leonardo Da Vinci Airport to catch their plane to England for a mission president conference. They were also greeting their two youngest daughters who were just arriving from a summer vacation in Utah. We went on a walk-about so the family could have some personal time together before the Acerson’s flew out and we took the girls back to the Mission Villa. During the rest of the week, we had the girls over for some meals and were available if they needed us.

Anziano and Sorella Burt, a new mission couple from Washington arrived on Saturday. They will replace Anziano and Sorella Pearson in two weeks at the office. We tried to keep Elder Burt awake for several hours so he would sleep the night and get over his jet-lag. It was quite hilarious, as he would practically fall asleep in mid-sentence.

The work of the Lord moves steadily on even with many natives on vacation in August. The streets are bare and the parking places abundant. It will be a shock all over again to return to normal by the end of August.